Caution prevails: Hiring in banking, real estate sluggish in August

New Delhi: Hiring activities across many sectors, including financial services and real estate, turned sluggish in August as companies continued to exercise a cautious approach amid economic uncertainties, says a report.

Leading job portal Monster.com today said that recruitment activities in many sectors witnessed a decline last month compared to July.

The sluggish trend is reflected in the Monster Employment Index -- a monthly gauge of hiring activities online - which slipped to 122 last month compared to 123 in July. In June, the same was at 131.

[caption id="attachment_1128317" align="alignleft" width="380"] nline recruitment activities rose in eight of the 13 geographies covered by the index. The rise was seen in Chandigarh (16 per cent) and Ahmedabad (14 per cent), among others.[/caption]

According to Monster.com, sectors that saw relatively less hiring activities include 'Banking/financial services/insurance', 'real estate' and 'telecom/ISP'.

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On an annual basis, the index slumped about three percent last month compared to the reading of 126 recorded in August 2012.

"The decline in annual growth is reflective of the uncertain economic/political scenario.

"The employers are adopting a cautious approach in hiring due to prevailing challenging economic conditions which is reflected in the index," Monster.com (India/ Middle- East/ South East Asia) managing director Sanjay Modi said in a statement.

Meanwhile, online recruitment activities rose in eight of the 13 geographies covered by the index. The rise was seen in Chandigarh (16 per cent) and Ahmedabad (14 per cent), among others.

PTI